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Toronto Star NEWS: Justin Trudeau claims Pierre Poilievre built just six affordable homes when he was housing minister. Here’s what actually happened

So did Poilievre really build just six affordable housing units in that time?

No.

The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to the Star that the number came from an answer to an order paper question tabled by NDP MP Jenny Kwan in December.

(MPs are able to pose questions to the government that result in a formal response, often in the form of written answers.)

Kwan had asked for a breakdown of the federal funding that was provided to support the construction of non-profit, community, co-operative and purpose-built rental housing — along with how many of those units were built — while Harper’s Conservatives were in power.

In its response to Kwan’s question, CMHC noted that there were limitations to some of the data it can provide.

During the 2015-2016 fiscal year included in the agency’s breakdown — the time frame relevant to Poilievre’s responsibility for the file — the document notes that across Canada, six non-profit or community housing units were built, all in Quebec.

CTV NEWS: A B.C. man owes $27,000 in COVID benefit repayments. He's fighting back and is not the only one

The Member of Parliament for his riding of Vancouver East, Jenny Kwan, penned a letter to the CRA advocating for Masse in November 2022.

"We actually have a contract that he has with AIDS Vancouver and there are invoices that he has issued that's related to the work that he's done," said Kwan over a ZOOM interview on Sunday.

"This has happened, by the way, to other constituents of mine whose income is less regular if you will, on a contract basis," added Kwan.

She said the CRA told her that they need verification to show that a person's money has gone into their bank account, but Kwan says that's not always the process for low-income earners.

"People who are on a tight income, whose income finances are coming and going very rapidly, a lot of people don't deposit that money into their account, they literally cash the cheque," said Kwan.

Global NEWS: B.C. man convicted of racist knife attack facing new charges

He has written to Vancouver East NDP MP Jenny Kwan and also met with B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma last December.

Kwan’s office told Global News the MP has brought Mr. Kabayabaya’s concerns regarding victim services to the B.C. Attorney General and Solicitor General’s attention, and said it was told the province would respond to Kabayabaya directly.

Global News has reached out to the B.C. Attorney General’s ministry for a response.

 

The Hub: Richard Shimooka: Canada’s shameful betrayal of our Afghan partners goes beyond Sajjan’s specific actions

How many hundreds, if not thousands of individuals were left stranded we will likely never know—even the government itself is unsure. In June 2022, NDP Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan alleged that the government had lost 2,900 applications from individuals who had an “enduring relationship” with Canada. It’s one of the few indicators of the potential size of the problem.

Certainly, the deliberate effort not to assist these individuals prior to July 2021 condemned many to their deaths, as did the hurried, shifting evacuation efforts for the month of August. Again, how many will likely never be known, which is perhaps convenient for the government.

Hill Times NEWS: Foreign interference bill passes, but online harms and citizenship bills left on hold until House comes back

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), her party’s critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, told The Hill Times that she is frustrated with needing to wait longer for progress on Bill C-71.

“The issue around lost Canadians has been going on for literally decades. People have lost their status, families have been separated, some have been rendered stateless. It’s created significant, undue hardship for Canadian families, and this is primarily as a result of Canada’s archaic immigration citizenship laws,” said Kwan. “The Liberals, time and again, they say one thing and then they do another, and this is yet another example of them dragging their heels in fixing the lost Canadian issue.”

Kwan attempted to put forward a unanimous consent motion in the House on June 10 and on June 11 to urge parties to expedite passage of Bill C-71, but the motions did not receive unanimous consent.

“On the second occasion, I barely uttered my words before the Conservatives said, ‘No,’” said Kwan. “[Passing Bill C-71] is the right thing to do not only morally, but legally. It needed to be done and it should have been done.”

 

Globe NEWS: Employer fines for abuse of temporary foreign worker program rose by more than a third last year

The NDP has warned that closed work permits can make migrants tied to a single employer vulnerable to abuse.

“These migrant workers are often underpaid and their immigration status is tied to their employer through a closed work permit, making it virtually impossible for them to change employment or exercise their rights,” immigration critic Jenny Kwan said in an e-mail, calling for them to be given permanent status.

“Their precarious status immigration status lead to severe power imbalances, abuse and a fear to speak out.”

 

Global NEWS: RCMP commissioner urges ‘caution’ on naming alleged foreign state colluders

NDP MP Jenny Kwan is the latest federal politician to call for their identities to be revealed.

“I think we’ve got to be cautious about a right to know and the need to know,” said Duheme, who has read the unredacted version of the NSICOP report.

But Kwan says keeping the names secret damages the reputation of all members of the House of Commons, and the trust Canadians have in their elected officials.
The MP for Vancouver East raised a question of privilege and requested the matter be referred to a parliamentary committee to “explore options” on how to disclose who the parliamentarians are without “compromising national security.”

Kwan received a briefing from Canada’s spy agency that she was targeted by China over her criticism of Beijing’s human rights abuses.

The RCMP commissioner warned that investigations could be compromised if names are revealed.

“If we start disclosing a lot of secret and top-secret information, there's tradecraft involved in that,” Duheme said.

“We have to be mindful about the impact we’ll have on the international partners who are supplying some of that information.”

 

Hill Times NEWS: Trust versus transparency

Conservative MP MICHAEL COOPER and New Democrat JENNY KWAN were among the MPs who pushed LeBlanc the hardest to explain why the government wasn’t giving Hogue what she had asked for. (Hogue’s commission has said it is in talks with the government over getting the unredacted documents.)

LeBlanc returned several times to the following points:

1. That Hogue already had everything she needed, in the opinion of the government. The information that had been withheld or redacted wasn’t relevant to the Commission.

(Kwan asked: Shouldn’t Hogue decide for herself which documents are relevant? Neither LeBlanc nor Drouin really refuted this suggestion, but Drouin assured the committee that the government had not withheld any information about a specific “incident” of foreign interference.)

Media Statement: World Refugee Day 2024

In June, New Democrats successfully blocked changes to Canada’s asylum system that the Liberals tried to sneak into an omnibus budget bill. The Liberal proposal would have made it more difficult to seek asylum in Canada and easier for the government to deport asylum seekers. This is plain wrong.

New Democrats also pushed this government to take more refugees from the Gaza and Sudan and reunite family members. Unacceptable delays and bureaucratic barriers in both programs have prevented family members of Canadians from reuniting in safety.

New Democrats believe we all need to work together to find solutions to root causes of the global forced displacement crisis and ensure Canada remains a safe place for those fleeing persecution and seeking a better life by investing in social housing, health care and newcomer services.

National Post: Trudeau's security adviser plays down concealing documents from foreign interference inquiry

Opposition MPs remained unconvinced by Drouin’s testimony and proceeded to press Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc over why the government is withholding information from a commission that is working under a tight deadline to have a final report completed by Dec. 31.
“Ultimately, what we all want coming out of this inquiry is to have faith in the process and in the inquiry and its outcome. If documents are withheld, you are going to undermine and undercut the work of the commissioner,” said NDP MP Jenny Kwan.

LeBlanc reiterated that public servants, not politicians, were involved in deciding what information is considered a cabinet confidence.